Page 24 of Drunk On Love

“I love you more, beta. Now go out there and start living again. And for God’s sake, if there’s a decent-looking man nearby, flirt a little. Not all men are lizards.”

We spoke a little longer—about mundane things: her new knitting obsession, the neighbor’s barking dog, and a recipe she wanted to teach me when I was “done sulking on beacheswith mysterious boys.”

But when we hung up, something in me felt… lighter.

I just sat there, the room wrapped in darkness and Dadi’s words still echoing through it like a melody I hadn’t heard in years.

Take another chance, Kiara. In life. In love. On yourself.

My fingers traced the edge of the phone screen absently. I wasn’t crying anymore, but something inside me still ached—a quiet, bruised part of my heart that hadn’t been touched in a long time.

Vihaan’s name stared back at me from the notifications bar. Missed calls. Messages. I turned the screen off.

That wasn’t the chance Dadi meant.

She was talking about something else.

Something… new.

My mind drifted back to earlier.

The way Manav had taken the phone from my shaking hands. The way he hadn’t asked too many questions. Hadn’t demanded explanations. He’d just… stepped in, quiet and solid, like a wall I didn’t realize I needed until I was leaning against it.

And then later, when I froze up at the sound of Vihaan’s name, he didn’t push. He didn’t pry. He just stood there, a foot away, like an anchor I could choose to hold onto or walk away from.

He didn’t try to fix me.

He just stayed.

I curled up by the window, knees to my chest, staring out across the courtyard. His room was still lit. Probably reading. Probably overthinking, like always.

Maybe I wasn’t ready for love.

But maybe I was ready for something.

A conversation. A walk. A beginning.

For the first time in six months, I grabbed my laptop and opened the unfinished last chapter of my novel.

6 ♥?Manav

“This isa small town where almost everybody knows everybody. There's a big shopping mall that we visited the other day. Then there's Lina’s bakery—her almond cakes are amazing, and the strawberry smoothie is my favorite. Lina’s son, Nick, calls me ‘Maavav,' and he’s absolutely adorable.”

Kiara smiled, and it was that same smile that I’d grown all too fond of.

I’m not entirely sure how she managed to trick me into showing her around the town, but here I am. It’s like my brain stops functioning whenever she’s in the same room. This girl is dangerous for me. I can’t handle her big, questioning eyes or her thoughtful gestures. She stayed by my side all night when I wasn’t feeling well, probably out of guilt for daring me to swim in the ocean at midnight. But she didn’t have to keep checking on me afterward, yet she did.

She’s not as tough as she pretends to be. Something is going on with her, something she’s not ready to share. Her unstoppable tears that day while talking to Roy weren’t just… normal. Beneath that fiery exterior lies a gentle, soft, and incredibly caring heart.

Okay, enough about hearts—or how mine seems to have developed a mind of its own when she’s too close. Because right now, she’s sitting in the same car as me, looking like an actual goddess.

And what on earth is she wearing? Is it even legal to look this beautiful? Her long black hair cascades like something out of a dream. Her eyes, her smile, the effortless way she takes up space in my life—it’s a problem I can’t solve, and I’m not even sure I want to.

And then there’s her long, elegant neck and her collarbone—so perfect it might as well be a work of art. Her black strappy dress isn't helping me focus on the road.

Let’s not even start on her lips—full, pink, and way too distracting. They make me forget how to breathe.

Manav. Stop. Don’t think about her lips.